Christmas tree fire extinguisher



June 29, 1954 G c PAPPAS 2,682,310

CHRISTMAS TREE FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed June 13. 1952 George 6'. PappasINVENTOR.

Patented June 29, 1954 UNITED STATE i ATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to fire extinguishers such as fall in theclass, broadly speaking, of sprinklers and it has more particularreference to one which is expressly designed and generally well adaptedto be hung for use on the trunk or limbs of a trimmed Christmas tree sothat in case the tree should catch on fire the fire extinguisher wouldcome automatically into play and smother and thus extinguish the fire.

As the preceding general statement of the nature of the inventionimplies, various types of automatic Christmas tree fire extinguishershave been evolved and produced by others with a View towardaccomplishing the same objective herein under advisement and it iscommon to this line of endeavor to employ a frangible container for fireextinguishing chemical or liquid and to, in addition, employ fusecontrolled means to automatically actuate an impact hammer or the liketo fracture the container and to cause the extinguishing liquid toshower down over the portions of the tree and to, in this manner, extinguish what might otherwise be a disastrous fire. It is an object inthe instant matter to structurally, functionally and otherwise improveupon similarly constructed and performing fire extinguishers in thefield of endeavor under consideration.

Another objective generally speaking is to improve upon and reduce thenumber of parts entering into the combination, thereby not onlyincreasing the efficiency of the overall structure, but also renderingthe same less costly to manu facture and produce and to otherwisesimplify factors of sale and practical usefulness by untrained users.

Briefly summarized, a preferred embodiment of the invention ischaracterized by a clamp to embrace a portion of the tree, an ornamentalball containing a fire extinguishing liquid, a holder in which said ballis held, said ball being of frangible material, said holder beingattached to said clamp, a spring actuated hammer for fracturing saidball, and a fusible trip link for holding said hammer in readiness tocome into play under abnormal heat conditions in the vicinity of saidlink and hammer.

More specifically, the holder is a portion of a bent wire member whosesupport portion takes the form of a ring in which the ball-shapedcontainer may be readily placed and utilized as an ornament.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparentfrom the follow- 2 ing description and the accompanying sheet ofdrawings.

In the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals are employed todesignate like parts throughout the views:

Figure l is a top plan view of a Christmas tree-type fire extinguisherconstructed in accordance with the principles of the instant invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical elevational view of the same with portions brokenaway; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation with the ball removed and observingthe structure of Figure 2 in a direction from right to left.

Referring now to the drawings by way of reference numerals andaccompanying lead lines. the frangible or fracturable container isdenoted by the numeral 4 and this may be the size of a fairly largeChristmas ball. In practice it will be decorated and colored like aChristmas ball but will difier in that it takes the form of a containerfor a fire extinguishing liquid and when said container is ruptured theliquid showers down and produces the gases necessary to smother thefire. As before stated, fracturable extinguisher containers are not inthemselves new and, therefore, the invention is primarily in the waysand means for supporting and using the container. One of the principalsupport members or units is a holding unit which is fashioned from alength of wire which is suitably bent between its ends and the unit aswhole is denoted by the numeral 6 and the intermediate portion of thewire is bent into ring form and the ring is denoted at 8. The free endportions of the wire are fashioned into a pair of vertical substantiallyspaced parallel limbs or arms Iii and the connective portions l?! whichare coplanar with the ring, provide close spaced parallel bends whichare supported in a manner to be described. The upper end of one limb isextended above the other and it is laterally bent as at I 4 and isfashioned at I6 into what'may be called a keeper for a readilyattachable fusible trip link [8. A stabilizing brace member is providedand this comprises a vertically disposed plate 20 having a lateralshelflike flange 22 at the lower end, said flange 22 having upturnedbends 24 providing lugs serving to cooperate with and suitably retainingthe bent portions l2 of the holding ring 8. A hole or aperture 26 isprovided in a plane just above the flange, as shown in Figure 3, topermit passage of the bends [2 through the plate with the 3 limbsfollowing the side of the plate with which they cooperate.

The upper end portion of the plate is riveted or otherwise secured as at28 to the intermediate portion of a substantially G-shaped clamping band30, said band having return bends 32-32 providing grips or jaws whichembrace the limb 34 of the Christmas tree in the manner shown. Byinterposing the upper end portions of the limbs ll0 between the plate 20and the intermediate or bight portion of the clamp, a satisfactoryassemblage of parts is had. The plate also serves, however, to provideoutstanding spaced parallel ears 36-36 carrying a hinge pin 38 whichserves to accommodate a coil spring 40. The coil spring has end portions42 anchored. as shown in Figure 2 and has an intermediate portion 44bearing against a terminal end portion 42 on what may be called atrigger 46. This trigger is actually more in the nature of a ham mer andthe free end 50 of the finger 48 is laterally bent and is arranged sothat it swings in the path of the arrow A and strikes the ball,fractures the latter and releases the fire extinguishing liquid, in anobvious manner. The aforementioned fusible link is so constructed thatone end is attached to the keeper and the other end is attached to thehammer end of the trigger finger 48. It will be evident, therefore, thatwith the liquid-filled ball in the seating ring 8 and with the fusiblelink in place as shown in the drawings the device is now set for usefuloperation. The clamp means 30 is clipped on the trunk of the tree or atsome other portion of vantage on one of the limbs and, of course, it iswithin the purview of the invention to use one or more extinguishers ona Christmas tree. In any event, it will be clear that if a fire isstarted within the vicinity of a tree the heat will impinge or play onthe fusible link I8 which will melt and will allow the spring actuatedhammer or trigger to come into play. By this is meant the hammer 50 willstrike the ball and fracture the ball and the liquid in the latter willbe released to extinguish the fire in an obvious manner.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the inventionafter considering the description in connection with the drawings.Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size and arrangement of details coming withinthe field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, ifdesired.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A Christmas tree fire extinguisher comprising a holder unit formedfrom a length of wire bent between its ends to provide a horizontallydisposed ball seating and supporting ring having free end portions bentto provide close spaced parallel vertical limbs, one of said limbsextending beyond the companion limb and terminating in a keeper, platemeans, clamp means at right angles to and secured to said plate meansand adapted to embrace a trunk or other part of a tree, said limbs beingsuperimposed against a surface of said plate means and havingcorresponding adjacent portions clamped between the plate means andclamp means, a pair of ears carried by said plate means, a springactuated trigger pivotally mounted between said ears, and a fusible linkcarried by said trigger engageable with said keeper and operable to holdthe trigger in a normal set ready-to-operate position.

2. A fire extinguisher attachment for a Christmas tree comprising avertical flat plate having a lateral projecting flange at its lower end,a tree clamp, said plate being secured to said clamp, said plate beingprovided with outstanding spaced parallel ears, a trigger pivotallymounted between said ears and having a lateral free end forming ahammer, spring means cooperating with the trigger and ears and servingto project the hammer when said trigger is properly released, a holderembodying limbs, said limbs paralleling and contacting said plate andbeing interposed between the plate and clamp, the upper end of one ofsaid limbs having an extension forming a keeper, and a fusible linkengaging said keeper at one end and said trigger at the opposite end.

3. A Christmas tree fire extinguisher comprising a vertical plate havinga lateral projecting flange at its lower ends, said flange beingprovided with a pair of upstanding spaced parallel lugs and said platehaving an opening in a plane adjacent to the plane of said flange, saidplate being further provided with spaced parallel ears, a clamp adaptedto be attached to a part of a tree, said plate being secured to saidclamp and said clamp being at right angles to the lengthwise axes ofsaid plate, a trigger pivotally mounted between said ears and having alateral free end forming a hanger, spring means cooperating with thetrigger and ears and serving to project the hammer when said trigger isproperly released, a holder formed from a length of wire bent betweenits ends and providing a horizontally disposed ball seating andsupporting ring and having free end portions disposed in close proximityand providing vertical spaced limbs, the lower ends of the limbs beingjoined with adjacent end portions of the ring by way of bends and saidbends being seated on said flange between said lugs and passing throughthe opening in said plate, the limbs being in superposed contact withone side of said plate and being clamped between the plate and saidclamp, the upper end of one of said limbs having an extension forming akeeper, and a fusible link engaging said keeper at one end and saidtrigger at the opposite end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,898,476 Banes Feb. 21, 1933 1,916,351 Whitman July 4, 19332,522,020 Deyo Sept. 12, 1950 2,581,324 Hartzell Jan. 1, 1952

